Moonstruck Madness Year One: Chapter 9

The Flying Squid Incident

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid." Lily Potter, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

All in all, it had been a terrible Friday. Anne had dubbed it "the Flying Squid Incident", and stubbornly refused to call it anything else. Even though, as Hermione said, it was a very misleading title. Anne felt that such a terribly dramatic event needed a fittingly dramatic title. And the horrendous thought of flying Giant Squids summed up the disaster of Friday very well.

Anne and Hermione were sitting by the lake and studying just before dinner. Or rather, Hermione was studying and Anne was staring dreamily at the lit castle.

"Isn't it magnificent?" Anne said rapturously.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Do you remember the incantation for that spell we learned in Transfiguration today? I swear I had it written in my notes, but I can't find it…"

"Fereverto," Anne replied dreamily, continuing to gaze at the castle. She stood up and took a few steps forward to get a better look. She was nearly in the water. Hermione could see the huge, shiny butterfly clip that she was wearing in her hair fluttering as she waded a few feet into the water without regard for her shoes or the bottom of her robes.

"Anne, you'd better come back," she called. "I heard from Fred and George Weasley that there was some sort of squid –"

Hermione looked up just in time to see Anne dragged into the water by some sort of tentacle. She shrieked loudly, dropped all of her papers and books unceremoniously on the ground, and ran towards Hagrid's hut, which was on the other side of the lake, near the castle. "Help!" she screamed. "Somebody, help!"

The squid was fascinated by the bright shiny thing it had seen. It was so sparkly! So the squid grabbed it and pulled it down, when it came close enough to the lake.

The problem was, the shiny thing was attached to another, much larger, and not at all shiny thing that seemed to be alive. It was certainly wiggling and squirming a lot.

So the squid raised one of its smaller tentacles to detach the shiny thing from the alive-not-shiny thing. He then tossed the bothersome, squirming not-shiny thing back out of the water. It then retreated to the depths of the lake to play with its new toy.

Anne couldn't swim. Understandably, she was terrified when the squid dragged her under the water. She opened her mouth to scream, and just as she realized her mistake, a huge gulp of water forced its way down her throat.

Just as quickly, before she could recover from her choking fit, a pair of tentacles seized her around the waist. And to her horror, tentacles lifted her higher, higher, above the surface of the water, and then –simply tossed her out.

Being thrown out of the water was even more disorientating - she had no idea what happening. A wave of panic overtook her as she began spiraled rapidly downward.

Anne instinctively grabbed onto the first solid thing she touched as she plummeted, which turned out to be a tree branch overhanging the lake. She hung there for a few moments, gasping, trying make sense of what had just happened.

She looked down and realized that she shouldn't have almost immediately. The drop-off here was much steeper than on the other side of the lake. She definitely couldn't swim that far, even if she did survive the drop.

She waited for the feeling of terror that never came. Somewhere between being thrown in the air and her descent, a strange calm had taken over her. Her mind froze; she couldn't think about anything. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something was telling her that she should be shrieking. She surveyed her situation. Using magic wasn't an option-both of her hands were currently occupied with holding on for dear life. Letting go and trying to wade to shore was not an option. She couldn't gain enough momentum to swing herself onto land, either. She didn't suppose anyone would be able to hear her this far from the castle, either, her voice would not carry far. The only thing she could do was hang there and wait.

Anne desperately hoped that Hermione would come with help soon. The lake water was cold, and the fall winds weren't much warmer. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on for; her arms were already tiring.

Harry, Ron, and Gilbert were walking down to Hagrid's hut. It was amazing how quickly you made friends when you were all living in dorms together, thought Gilbert. Already, people talked about Harry-and-Ron-and-Gilbert and Dean-and-Seamus as single units. Poor Neville was a little left out.

Gilbert rifled through his bag before realizing something. "You two go ahead," said Gilbert, turning to Harry and Ron. ""I'll meet you at Hagrid's hut, alright?" He turned back to the lake hastily. It would appear that he had left his history textbook there.

Gilbert ran back towards the lake to retrieve his forgotten textbook. Just a while ago, he, Harry, and Ron had been studying (or pretending to study) there. He dearly hoped that his book was still dry—although he was fairly certain Professor Binns wouldn't notice if he showed up with a potions textbook, much less if it was wet or not.

Splashes of water on his head interrupted Gilbert's ramblings. He looked up, and wished he didn't see what he saw there. An unmistakable, red-haired figure dangling from a tree overlooking the lake. He gaped in shock. What on earth had Anne done? He ran towards her as fast as he could.

"Anne Shirley," Gilbert said out of breath, once he reached her. "What are you doing here?"

She was drenched in water. Anne's eyes were a bit glassy, but Gilbert could clearly tell she did not look very happy to see him. Hesitating a moment, she said in a faraway tone, "Fishing for lake trout."

"Lake trout?" Gilbert repeated, now extremely confused. "There aren't any fish in the Hogwarts lake, only the giant squid."

Anne glared down, her face as red as her hair. She was shivering. Gilbert's eyes widened as he realized that she needed his help.

"Here," he said. "You swing and jump, and I'll catch you."

Now it was Anne's turn to look confused. "Catch me?" she repeated.

"With magic," he replied, taking a step forward and pulling out his wand.

"Magic? What if you drop me? I don't want to fall in the water. I can't swim." Anne said faintly, in a voice that was unsettlingly without panic. There was obviously something amiss. Anne hadn't insulted him once, nor was she screaming as someone just feet away from her death probably should be. Gilbert wasn't sure he wanted to know how frantic Anne truly was feeling, if she was acting like this.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to sound more sure of himself than he was. "Just jump."

Anne looked resigned, but she did as he had said. Just as she was letting go of the branch, Gilbert shouted the charm he had read about in his textbook earlier. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Anne hovered in the air for a moment, drifting towards him. Then she fell right on top of him, as Gilbert lost his concentration. Somehow, he managed to keep either of them from falling into the lake.

Anne detangled herself. She finally snapped. She shrieked, "Gilbert Blythe, what in heaven's name were you thinking? You could have gotten us both killed! Don't you know better than to try a spell on a moving target? And we haven't even tried that spell in class—you-"

She stopped, and realized she was shaking.

Obviously, the calm and collected trance that held Anne while she had been dangling dangerously on a tree branch dissapated once the threat had passed.

"Anne-?"

She mustered all the dignity she had left, and trying to keep her voice steady she said, "Thank you, Mr. Blythe. Now I really must be going. I'm very much obliged to you."

"Anne," he said hurriedly, catching her soaking arm before she could leave. "Look here. Can't we be good friends? I'm awfully sorry I made fun of your hair that time. I didn't mean to vex you and I only meant it for a joke. Besides, it's so long ago...I think your hair is awfully pretty now-honest I do. And I'm sorry about the whole business with the time turner. I didn't mean for anything to happen. Please, let's be friends."

Anne seemed to hesitate for a moment, but that might have been Gilbert's imagination. "No," she said stiffly. "I shall never be friends with you, Gilbert Blythe, and I don't want to be!" She broke free of his grasp, and ran towards the castle, leaving a trail of water behind her.

Now Gilbert was angry too. He was never going to be friends with Anne; he may as well resign himself to it. "All right! I'll never ask you to be friends again, Anne Shirley. And I don't care either!" He stormed off towards Hagrid's hut, muttering darkly under his breath.